A study of Eve Ensler’s plays : feminist ideology and activism

Abstract

To present an analytical study of plays written by Eve Ensler between 1995 and 2010; The Vagina Monologues (1996), The Good Body (2004), I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World (2010) which reflect the writer’s feminist ideology and activism. Eve Ensler declares in The Vagina Monologues that women have been oppressed and exploited primarily because they are made to think of their sexuality as taboo. Having provoked widespread concern about womanhood in her play The Vagina Monologues, Ensler continues questioning to what extent women are free from sexual domination in The Good Body that highlights the role of women in American consumerist culture of today who have been influenced by the ideal image of women represented through the media which later on conditions women to pay much attention to their physical appearance to the point of becoming an obsession. I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World demonstrates the merging of feminist drama and activism to inspire the younger generation, to participate in activities aimed at combating violence against women. In terms of feminist activism, Ensler has been actively involved in V-Day and V-Girls activities that aim to promote feminist ideologies and the awareness that leads women to protect themselves. Moreover, the three plays are created by gathering women’s experiences similar to the consciousness-raising activities practiced in the early period of women’s liberation movement. To learn from these experiences boosts up the strength of female bonding and self-worth in women around the world, who want to share their sense of feminist ideology as well as to express themselves individually, to join forces with each other so as to stimulate the growth of feminist activism.